The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-13
A NIGHT WITH THE POLICE.
How the Blue Coated Guardians OF the
Peace do Duty.

| 'Nhen estaouihry dutyS 10 NC oohet W oc
done,
A policenan's lot is not happy one, happy
one.
The PIRATES of Penzancen are not in town
but the police are, and the sentiments of the
brave squad who successfully oppose the
Pirates are the expressions of the feelings of
the real police, the guardians of the peace
as they are denominated and, in truth, a
policemans lot is not happy one There are
but few professions, callings or occupations
that require such arduouS and
dangerous service as the police are called upon
! to perform. In tee first place they are COM
| PEELED to do good many hours of loating per
| diem, and while the cynic may chuckle over
| that fact when a policeman speaks of the
the severity of his life, it is a matter OF fact
| that that is the hardest work that can be
! imposed upon humanity.
II is bad enough when one Is condemned 10
| do nothing by lack of something to do,
| but when the day must be put in loafing
when there is something to do just because
one Is a policeman and that something
which might he done is not in the line of his
! duty, then loating is doubly hard. A man
who is doomed to walk the unhalowed pre-
cincts Of Yamacraw, while party is going
on at his best girls house, Is indeed TO be
/ pitied. To think that he must promenade
from one corner to another OF that illus
| trious district trying to think of something
besides the party to think about, but all the
while thinking Of the party, is not TO be
blamed il he permits Namacraw settler TO
| kick yellow dog to death before his eyes
without seeing him.
There are other things, too that make the
| job an undesirable one, Every now and
then an old maid finds man under the
bed, or thinks she does. She calls police
10 "a n "a "a n Dnut the lOIIgQ
| searching not only the house itself, but the
basement, and he is lucky if be does not
knock his shins against a decrepit table or
an old barrel. Then he goes out In the coal
house, and if he does not try to kick the
sharp side of an ak out of his way he is to
be congratulated, OF course, most
OF these excursions are made
simply TO satisfy some scary old woman,
but all the same there is the possibility that
the old woman is right. and there may be
desperate house-hreaker, an escaped convict,
or some well-known town tough who is
thirsting for that particular pohceman's
gore in dark corner or behind door. As
matter Of fact, if a policeman corners
bold thief in house the policeman is
at disadvantage, for the thief will
hide himself the best way he can, and when
he finds he is going to be caught he will
probably attempt to inflict some injury upon
the officer 10 keep him OFT the chase while
he makes bold dash TO escape.
The searcher after a robber Is always at
disadvantage, and that is the reason so
many men laugh at their wives fears when
the latter hear burglars in their houses.
The broilS and fights on the streets are an
other source of danger TO the police. When
man and his wife fight, if stranger
comes in to separate them they will unite
their strength for the purpose of annihila-
ting the stran err. SO it is if two toughs are
engaged in conflict. They may be earnest
in their eudeavors to Sullivanize each other
but let a policeman take hand and both
will turn on him. When the common
enemy appears internecine quarrels
cease. But these are the least of a
policeman's troubles. The soldier, engaged
in the holy cause of defending his country,
exposes his life in battle, but that is the
smallest part of his hardships. Battles
occur two, four or six months apart, but he
staIves, freezes, treads barefooted and cold
over frozen roads, or melts in hot suns on
long marches every day. So 1t is with the
cops. While they are not engaged in
bloody conflicts every day, or hunting
burglars every night. they have long hours
OF duty and few of sleep, day after day and
night after night.
The routine of duty is tiresome and wear
ing, and long and undisturbed rest is
something never obtained. The regular
force of men here consists of forty-eight
priYateS. four Sergeants, one Lieutenant
and the Chief The privates are divided
into two platoons of twenty-four each, and
the days round of duty begins at o'clock
p. III. At that hour the first night relief,
twenty-four men goes on and walks the
streets until midnight. Then the second
night relief goes on and the first goes to
bed. Twelve men of the first relief go
home to sleep until o'clock in the MORT
| ing The other twelve sleep at the bar
racks to serve as a fire relief,
and for other calls, and
at o'clock they go on the day watch from
! 6 to- S. AT s the other half go on duty and
walk until when the day watch goes on
again and does duty until 6 p. m, when the
second night relief of the night previous
| goes on that evening as the first night re-
| lief. Thus they alternate, and by this means
the force on duty at night is twice 10 large
/ us the day force. On Saturday nights three
men are called in from the quiet streets and
put on duty, one at the market, one on Bar
| nard, between the market and Broughton
street, and one on Broughton street
| They remain on from o'clock in the after
noon until the market closes, and they gen.
orally make a good haul before they get
through.
The sergeants have longer hours of duty,
| though they arrange it so as to have one
| day off in four. One of them will go on
duty at headquarters for fires and other
calls from 6 p III. until 12:45 Il. IN during
| which time he may sleep if there is moth
ing to call him out He is in tue office
| from ! a. m. to 4:30 a. IN. on the street
| from $50 to a. IN. at breakfast unit 0 a.
M. IN the Office until 2 p. m, then on the
street until p. M, making twenty-four
hours OF duty without IntermiSsion. The
next day he is on from a. m. until q p. m.
only, and every fourth day he has entirely
to himself During the week, however the
sergeants manage to put in about ten hours
more than the privates in spite of their
holiday.
The prisoners como in from various
quarters of the city, but the charges pat
against them will generally Indicate from
what quarter. If it is for fighting and dis.
orderly conduct the case surely comes from
Crawford's, Oglethorpe's, or the Old
Fort. If it is for plain drunk.
then the central part of the city
made It's contribution. The route
from the hotels to Crawford's, turns in
more cases than any other In the city, aud
it is always well represented in the Police
! Court, especially ON Monday morning Sat
urday night is not, however, the worst.
Between the Sd and 10th of the month. when
/ the railroad employees are paid Off, is the
time when the police ARE busy and if is then
! thew have to take all the chances to which